$25 Starbucks Gift Card Giveaway 11/16 WINNER CLOSED

CONGRATULATIONS TO ...

Jinxy and Me said...

i'm following your blog in Google Friend Connect.

nesta 67 {at} live dot com

An e-mail has been sent and she has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen via random.org.

Thanks to all those who entered!

After seeing how many wanted to win the $25 Starbucks card, I decided to fund this one and give one away as a Happy Thanksgiving gift to one of my blog readers.

To enter:

Just follow my blog and leave a comment!

Bonus Entries:

• Subscribe to my blog.
• Follow me on Twitter
• Like me on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway (five entries)
• Tweet about this giveaway (can be done daily for two entries)
• Enter any of my other on-going giveaways for five entries
• Sign up for the Juno Baby newsletter for five entries.

Giveaway ends 11/16 - Open to US and Canada

Winner chosen by random.org

Click here for more great giveaways to include ANOTHER Starbucks GC!

TamaTown by Tamagotchi Gift Idea

Remember the Tamagotchis? My oldest does and loved them! They were handheld electronic play games of endless fun or until the batteries died. With the new series of electronic friends, your little ones will most likely love one of these for Christmas.

Tama-Go

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Tamagotchi is the one and only virtual pet! TamaTown is the latest sensation, which includes the original nurturing play pattern and character customization.

• The TamaTown egg is larger for easier play.
• TamaTown is the base for the Tama characters (sold separately). Attach any Tama character and activate character-specific new games.
• Includes an interchangeable design sheet and 1 “lite” character unit.
• TamaTown has a new 4-gray scale display screen for greater detail!
• When you collect multiple characters, TamaTown rewards you with special announcement.

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Gotchi Figures

Chamametchi #109

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Collect all 100 TamaTown Gotchi Character Figures!

• Each character comes with 2 character exclusive games that can be played with TamaTown Tama-go (sold separately).
• Visit shops and get character specific gifts!
• Comes with a face plate to change the look of your Tamagotchi. Includes exclusive web codes to access special gifts on www.tamatown.com.

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Accessories

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• Carry all your TamaTown characters and Tamagotchi with you!
• Carrying case holds your Tamatown Tamagotchi and 12 characters.

Personalized Christmas Gift Ideas

It's never too early to prepare for Christmas and one thing I have found, sometimes it pays to prepare in advance due to shipping costs.  I found that my strategy didn't work as well for Halloween as I could have purchased my girl's costumes cheaper had I waited but I was afraid they would sell out.

Here are some ideas that I use for Christmas as gifts:

Wine, Container (tins) or Present Labels:

Gold Christmas Tree on Red Background Wine Label

Snowflake on Silver Christmas Wine Labels 

Copper and Gold Personalized Christmas Wine Labels

All labels are fully customizable and come in 1 1/2" or 3" sizes.  The smaller size works well with the small round tins.  Priced at $5.45 for a sheet of 20 in the smaller size or a set of six in the 3" size.

To affix to a bottle of wine, just soak the front label, peel and stick.  It's that easy.  If you want an extra amount of bling, you can add sequence or glitter to the label for a sparkly appearance.

Customized Santa Card:

Customized Letter from Santa

An inexpensive way to send your little one a letter from Santa while you control all wording.  Priced at only $3.25 per card.

Personalized Postage Stamps:

Customized Santa Hat 

This is a wonderful way to create additional memories by such as easy way!  You'll be surprised at how much your loved ones will enjoy seeing their family on postage stamps they receive with their cards.  Priced at only $19.95 for a sheet of 20, it will be a hit.

More ideas to come!

Christmas Party Ideas

Christmas is a great time to celebrate and spend time with family and friends.  You don't have to have a reason either but sometimes a theme adds to the memories.  Here are a collection of party ideas I gathered from the web:



Gingerbread House Building Party

This is easy if you purchase prepackaged houses like the ones at Walmart or Michaels.  Setting up work stations where groups can assemble their houses is a lot of fun finishing it off with a contest for the different categories.  Don't forget the pictures!

Courtesy of The Wedding Decorator

To liven up the theme, create a candy bar with a variety of the same candy to be used for decorating.  Any type of a container can be used but glass jars and bottles provide a beautiful presentation.  For more ideas, check out my post for a baby shower I had for my daughter here.

To decorate the house, if you have children, you can have fun by purchasing this set of Gingerbread Men and painting them ahead of time. You can hang them from light fixtures or whatever your house allows.  They will another special memory knowing you painted them yourself or better yet, make them out of real dough for more fun.

If you have a Cricut or Silhouette digital cutter, you can make a host of many other creative decorations such as banners, signs, napkin rings and much more.



Ornament Exchange

This is another easy one where decorating can be elegant by hanging various sizes ornaments around your house.  Purchasing small Christmas trees to adorn the house would also add to the theme and elegance of the party.

Fun serving trays like these can add to the festivities by Aspen Country.  A set of four costs $27.95.  This is a fun way to decorate tables by using glass containers filled with ornaments.  Once you purchase a set of glass containers, you will find that you will reuse them again and again so it's worth the cost.  I purchased a number of containers from Hobby Lobby for my daughter's baby shower at 50% off.

Photo courtesy of Let's Entertain

Don't forget to set limits on the price of the ornaments and decide on how you will conduct the exchange whether it's a pick a number out of Santa's hat or drawing names.

More party ideas to come!

Live in NYC? First Annual NYC Spin-a-Thon to benefit The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care 10/30

The First Annual NYC Spin-a-Thon to benefit The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care is coming to Manhattan on Saturday, October 30, 2010.

Twenty-five cyclists will face the challenge of completing four consecutive 35-minute spin classes and one Pilates class at four separate New York Sports Club fitness centers throughout Soho and Greenwich Village.  True to the cycling theme, rickshaw-bicycles will transport the participants between locations.

All monies raised will be donated to the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care, in Harlem, New York. The center has been providing advanced cancer screening and treatment programs for the surrounding community since 2003. The Center performs screening and diagnostic procedures including ambulatory colonoscopies and endoscopies free of charge or at reduced costs to uninsured or underinsured individuals.

The event has taken place successfully for the past five years on Long Island and has generated more than $60,000 in donations. This year’s event will be the first of its kind in Manhattan. Their goal for this NYC event is to raise more than $10,000 in donations. 


The event has been generously sponsored by New York Sports Club, ZICO, and Ice-Qube. 


For more information about the event or to make a donation, please contact Michael Sloyer at michael.sloyer@gmail.com <mailto:michael.sloyer@gmail.com>

Care.com 25% off Premium Membership: Expires Tonight

Need childcare, adult care, tutoring or more? Care.com is a great site that allows you to find the help you need.  Whether you are a family in need of help or you are a caregiver wanting to give help, this great service is linked up in one place. If you are concerned with safety, Care.com takes care of that too: All caregiver profiles reviewed by our team of moms Verification checks for every new caregiver Two types of background checks Recorded reference interviews Monitored messaging system Right now Care.com wants to help families plan for the holidays with a special 25% off premium memberships ending tonight at 11:59 EST by using code HOLIDAY25OCT. The holidays are a perfect time to use our new program, College Caregivers, to find college caregivers that are home from school and looking for jobs. College Caregivers allows you to search for babysitters, tutors, pet sitters and more from a college or university of your choice. You can search for caregivers from a school you might live near, or search for students from your alma mater to keep school pride alive in your family! College Caregivers link: http://www.care.com/college-caregivers-p1279.html

Gift Ideas: ShāToBu: The Workout You Wear

The Workout You Wear
Make It Your Little Secret

ShaToBu is meant to be worn all day every day
Specially designed for optimal comfort
Just enough resistance to provide significant toning and calorie burning
The extra exercise is effective and effortless

ShaToBu - The Workout You Wear - is the revolutionary shaper that helps women shape, tone and burn more calories during everyday activities.

The benefits go beyond ordinary shapewear - ShaToBu instantly gives a sleeker silhouette, but women can also see and feel a difference in their bodies with regular use over time. By incorporating resistance bands right into the garment, muscles work a little harder and more calories are burned during daily activities.

ShaToBu helps women fit a workout into their normal day, while looking and feeling great.

ShāToBu™ - Footless Shaping TightUSD$ 34.00

Style: 12704A (U.S.A.)
Buy Here

Soft and slimming, these footless shaping tights are a fashion must-have to not only pull together your favorite outfit, but to also tone your muscles and burn extra calories as you go about your day! Whether you choose to wear these under pants, with a skirt or a dress, you’ll be looking fabulous while you’re getting fit.

• Helps tone muscles and burn extra calories
• Shapes your trouble spots in thighs & derriere
• Smoothes bulges and panty lines

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ShāToBu™ - Shaping Tight

USD$ 36.00
Style: 12702A (U.S.A.)
Buy Here



Our revolutionary new shaping tights provide all of the same muscle toning and calorie burning benefits of the ShaToBu shapers, but in addition, make any outfit look fashionably chic. They not only help shape and support for an instantly sleeker silhouette, but also provide a light workout for more toned legs and derriere long term!

• Helps tone muscles and burn extra calories
• Smoothes bulges
• Eliminates panty lines

For more great gift ideas from ShaToBu, click here.

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Great Gift Idea: Luminess Air

Luminess Air was developed by leading makeup artists from the fashion, print, television and film industries along with leading cosmetic chemists and colorists.  Our Luminess Air formulators and cosmetics designers have a minimum of 15 to 30 years of experience in the cosmetics industry and have run the research and development departments of some of the leading cosmetics brands in the country. Our formulations are rated amongst the best makeup in terms of quality, result and design.


Luminess Air never tests products on animals.  We believe in making our cosmetics as simple, holistic, organic and natural as possible.  And you will never find us sitting still; our designers and formulators are constantly working on the next generation innovation to revolutionize cosmetics.

Today, Luminess Air is the leader in airbrush cosmetics with the most advanced airbrush cosmetics formulations and airbrush innovations.  Chances are that you have seen our product on Hollywood A-listers, films, TV shows, covers of major fashion magazines, runway shows and network television anchors and celebrities for a while now without ever knowing about Luminess Air.  We were once only available to the trade by word-of-mouth and now, today Luminess Air is available for everyone.

Furthermore, Luminess Air and its founders have a strong sense of responsibility and giving back to communities, organizations and causes which help those in need.  Luminess Air strongly supports UNICEF and other children’s causes along with various breast cancer and women’s health causes.  We believe that everyone should have one more chance!

Kelly System

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The Kelly System comes complete with four foundation shades.  You may be wondering why we are sending four shades of foundation in your starter kit?  We include 4 personal shades of foundation to ensure that you get the most precise, personal color match. Not to mention, your shades change from season to season. And as an added plus, you can mix and
custom blend by placing a few drops of multiple shades for even a closer match. Now you can finally have the best skin-foundation match ever!

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Home Tan

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Luminess Tan™ is a major breakthrough in home self tanning. Because so little is known about airbrush tanning, it is easily confused with spray tanning. Airbrush tanning is the ultimate way to apply the smoothest, most natural lasting sunless tan. The secret is in the exact control application, which provides the most flawless results.

Our high performance tanning system has two major components. First, Luminess Tan™ features our highly innovative airbrush body application system. Do you know that Luminess® is the #1 brand in airbrush beauty and perhaps the largest manufacturer of personal airbrush systems in the world?Our technology is based on the principles of great results, ease of use, reliability and value. The airbrush system is comparable to those used in high end tanning salons & spas. Please don’t confuse airbrush tanning to misting booths, which are extremely messy.

The second component of Luminess Tan™ is our highly innovative tanning solution. The formulation features both an instant bronzer for immediate color and tanning actives designed to physically darken skin. Our formulation features dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which is approved by the FDA for external use.

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Ultra Foundations

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Available in a variety of shades, a little goes a long way.  Become a Pro Member and save even more money.

Check out Luminess Air for more great gift ideas.

Read my review on the Luminess Air System and how much I LOVE it!

Great Gift Idea: SmileyCookie

It started as a half-baked idea more than 20 years ago — a smiley cookie as the vehicle to communicate the ethos of a restaurant — Eat’n Park, the Place for Smiles. Soon our cookie became not just the signifier of a delightful family dining experience, but a symbol of commitment to community and charitable giving, indeed, the mascot of the company. (Who knew a six-foot walking sugar cookie would have such draw. You have to be cracking a smile by now!)

Today, every child that dines at Eat’n Park receives the surprise of a buttery, rich, delicious smiley cookie, totaling more than 1 million free cookie treats each year. Every day, our cookies are distributed to community, charity and fundraising events. Every year, more than 200,000 smiling cookies are donated to local non-profit organizations. That’s a lot to smile about.

Crumb on and Try Our Cookie Delivery Company!

And now, our smile has gotten even bigger with our online cookie delivery company — fresh-baked, hand-iced Smiley Cookies delivered all over the country — fast and fresh. Smiles for miles each and every day!

That’s because our convenient online cookie company makes it easy for you to share a smile with anyone, anywhere, for any occasion. (Note how our cookies take the celebratory shape of hearts, shamrocks, bunnies, jack-o-lanterns and more for holidays and special occasions, and are available in virtually any color combination to sweeten the offer.)

You can even order customized cookies to match wedding colors, sport teams, corporate logos and more, and have your cookies delivered fresh nearly anywhere to as many addresses as you choose! And with our smart cookie pricing, you don’t need to spend a lot of dough! Did we say, “SWEET”?

Original Smiley

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The prototype. The icon. The one-and-only Smiley Cookie — a classic American sentiment, revered by young and old, that says happiness, warmth, yes and more — baked fresh in our ovens, sent straight to your door! That rhymes.

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Dozen Smiles Starlight Combo (Six Star Cookies & Six Original Cookies)
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Do stars make you smile? Do smiles make you starry-eyed? Then our Dozen Smiles star cookie basket is the way to say “way to go” to your super star or to send a star-struck message to whomever you have your eye on

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Smiley Travel Mug - Cheer To Go!
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The trip always goes better when you take a smile along with you! Just ask the thousands of journeyers, gypsies and jet-setters who won’t leave home without their Smiley cookie travel mug!

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Smiley Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate
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Smiley Milk Chocolate

When Smiley met Sarris Candy, makers of the best chocolate in the world, the resulting Smiley milk chocolates proved unequivocally, that when worlds collide, the results can be stellar.

Smiley Dark Chocolate

Even candy-making has a dark side and our confectioners are the first to embrace the bittersweet as they take a whisk and introduce the mood-altering charm of our Smiley dark chocolates.

Check out SmileyCookie.com for more great gift ideas.

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Follow on Twitter here.



Don’t forget to sign up and join the club to save $5 on your next order - see site for specific information.

America The Story of Us: An Illustrated History by Kevin Baker Review

Have you had a chance to watch the History channel and view America The Story of Us?  I have and loved it and when I was provided an opportunity to receive a complimentary copy, I was more than happy to read and provide my thoughts.  The author, Kevin Baker, wrote this great supplement to the History channel special that chronicles the United States from colonial settlement to modern day.

The book is broken down into 12 chapters with numerous illustrations supporting the stories.  The illustrations range from drawings to photos from objects to maps and so much more.  The illustrations were a treasure to this book given how much it added to the entire book.  The insightful stories provided an almost first hand account of what it must have been liked to have been in some of the situations described along the way.

 

This is a 400 page powerhouse that follows the series along thus reinforcing what the viewer watched if for educational reasons or just for pleasure.  America The Story of Us: An Illustrated History is perfect for the novice or historical buff.  My favorite chapter was on WWII and I particularly liked seeing an actual copy of Roosevelt's address to Congress. There is a final section for extended reading should the reader like to find additional information to supplement the book.

Overall, I would recommend this book as an educational aid or just for pleasure.  Very well written, informative, factual and excellent complimentary illustrations that keep you wanting more.


Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest review.